Author Notes: We entered our first chili cookoff years ago, and in our travels along the way we've not only tasted some amazing bowls of red, but met some amazing characters. Ormly Gumfudgin immediately comes to mind. Ormly was such a chili purist that he once physically attacked a Houston chef who put baked beans in his chili. The Texas Rangers came, and, according to reports, yelled at the chef.

I love everything about chili - its welcoming aroma, rich flavor, and soul-embracing warmth - but most of all, I love chili because it's meant to be shared with as many friends as possible!
- wssmom

Food52 Review: Like barbecue or chocolate chip cookies, chili has inspired many a debate. Connoisseurs know that there are as many versions as there are cooks who make it, but not all chili is created equal. Wssmom's Bowl of Red gives other contenders a run for their money. It's rich and smooth, with a creeping heat from homemade chili paste -- by far the most labor intensive part of the recipe, and it's really not that much work. The addition of a little bittersweet chocolate evokes the suppleness of a good mole, and the delicate beef cubes virtually melt in your mouth. We love that you don't brown the onions or garlic, but just throw them in with the seared meat and the broth to mellow and soften. We highly recommend a spritz of lime juice and a dollop of sour cream to finish it off. - A&M - The Editors

Wearing rubber gloves, stem and seed the chile pods and cover with near-boiling water. Let steep for 30 minutes, then pour off the water and puree the softened pods in a food processor until they form a paste. Pass through a sieve to remove skins and errant seeds. Set aside.

First, pour yourself a shot of tequila and toast legendary chilihead Carroll Shelby, who founded the International Chili Society. Then, heat the bacon fat in a really big skillet, and working in batches, saute the beef and pork until no longer pink. Drain off the fat.

Place the meat, along with several grinds of pepper, the onions and garlic, in your favorite chili pot and add 1 1/2 cups of the beef or chicken broth. Bring to a boil, lower to a simmer, and cover. Keep the lid on, and your hands off, for 90 minutes. In the meantime, read H. Allen Smith's brilliant article "Nobody Knows More About Chili Than I Do." (Here's a link:
http://www.chilicookoff.com/history/history_started.asp)

After 90 minutes, stir in the chili powder, cumin, oregano, salt, tomato sauce, chocolate and half the chile paste. Cover and cook for another half-hour or so. Chase away your guests, who will no doubt be hovering around, demanding to know when it's going to be ready.

At this point, check for consistency. If it's too thin, scoop out the meat and reduce the sauce by bringing to a boil, and when you're happy with it, return the meat to the pot. Stir in the brown sugar. (If it's too thick, add some more of the broth.) Smack any guest who gets too close with a wooden spoon.

Cook, uncovered, for 10 more minutes, and check for seasoning. You can add more salt, chili powder and cumin if you like, or more chile paste if you want to amp it up, or more brown sugar if you like it sweet and hot.

When it looks as good as it smells, summon the troops and serve with a squeeze of lime and a dollop of sour cream. (But have some cheese on hand anyway for the die-hard cheddar lovers!)

Just made a batch of this for the first time. Couldn't find dried 'New Mexico' peppers, used dried California's and added a fresh red chili, minced with the garlic. Also toasted cumin seed then blitzed it in my grinder...kitchen smelled amazing. Used my own garden tomato sauce so didn't need to add the brown sugar (I put it in my sauce). After the 'recipe allotted time' I tasted it.....WOWWWWWWW!!!!!!

Fantastic stuff. I made my own chile powder with freshly toasted chiles, because I don't have good access to any exceptional store bought stuff - that was so worth it. The chiles shine. Good lord this is tasty.

Followed the recipe and it turned out perfectly. I resisted putting beans in the chili even though I think it would taste great with beans. I love the directions but sadly I didn't start with the shot of tequila....maybe next time. There will definitely be a next time.

I just made this...pretty much exactly as the recipe goes. I did sweat and soften the onions a bit on their own, but only because I really don't like crunchy onions. Maybe 2 hours in the pot wouldn't have mattered in the end.

End result was amazing. Probably one of the greatest chilies I've ever had. Beans don't belong anywhere near this chili.

cooked on crock pot for 24 hours and was absolutely delicious. reminded me of a restaurant in Albuquerque called Sadie's. I ate this there every week while I was pregnant. thanks for the post. I'm new on here but loving this site!

no offense about the beans to anyone...especially in NM this is served with tortillas and refriend beans and fried potatoes. the potatoes and sour relieve some of the heat because serve it really hot their. it is wonderful. now living in OH for 15 years I have so missed this. headed to the store for ingredients to make for dinner tomorrow!

My husband requested chili for his birthday dinner. So I made this with a couple changes. Did not have bacon fat, so I fried two pieces of bacon then used the fat and put the bacon pieces in with the meat when I began the cooking. Also could not find chile pepper pods here in CT but did find ground red chili pepper from New Mexico. So I measured 2 oz, added water and made a paste. Lastly, I added an extra can of tomato sauce. Served with cheese, sour cream, lime and guac. Delicious!

I followed most of the recipe exactly, including the tequila shot at the beginning. I added some chipotles, some black olives, and some red and black beans, and another tequila at the end. Really wonderful chili!

So...what you ended up with was a bowl of seasoned beans, huh? innoabrd is right, EatArt - If you are going to put beans in your chili down here in New Mexico (unless you are in Santa Fake!), don't go buying any green bananas!

So, EatArt, what you ended up with was a nice bowl of seasoned beans, huh? (LOL!) innoabrd is not far from right - Down here in New Mexico, if you put beans in your "chili", don't go buying any green bananas! In these parts, "bean is beans" (even if there is some chili in 'em), and chili is chili...is chili! Chile + meat + seasonings = chili.

I am planning to win our annual chili cook-off in a couple of weeks using this recipe. I have always been a fan of a good bowl of red, and this looks like it has everything needed to win. Just hoping I can find the New Mexico pepper pods and guajillos here in Minnesota! If not, I'll have to improvise.

I DID win my chili cook-off with this recipe this week (although I did confess that the recipe wasn't mine)! And I must caveat it by saying that I added some beans to the mix to stretch it a bit because it needed to feed a whole crowd... Thanks, wssmom!

I made this chili last night and received rave reviews. My husband declares it the best chili he's ever had - he ate the (few) leftovers for breakfast. This chili is going into regular rotation for winter at our house!